


A Sister's Lament

by orphan_account



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: And Thea is as much her sister as Sara, Big sister Laurel, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Laurel Lance is a hero, Post grave spoiler, Rewrite, Spoilers for 4x18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 21:10:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6487525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The world is tough, my darling, but so are you."</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Sister's Lament

**Author's Note:**

> After last night I didn't think I could be anymore upset. But then I went on tumblr and Redditt and saw all the tributes and grieving. And this happened. 
> 
> If you haven't seen 4x18 and don't know who died, I wouldn't recommend reading this.

 

* * *

" _No_!"

Thea's head jerked up at her older brother's yell.

She followed his gaze to a sight she'd never thought she'd see. A sight she never wanted to see.

It happened in slow motion, time slowly to torture her with the sight. There was a sniper on the roof, Oliver in his sightlines. Laurel had seen him before anyone else, had had seconds to decide.

No one else had noticed until she'd thrown herself betwen Oliver and the bullet. Until she'd already made the decision.

Thea watched, not able to believe what she was seeing.

Laurel, who was gorgeous, who never turned away a person in need, was standing still. Too still. Suspended in time as a bullet exploded from her chest.

Thea screamed as her nightmares came to life.

Laurel was too busy coughing blood to tell her this wasn't real, to climb in bed with her and soothe her shakes.

Thea dropped the thug she'd been beating on and ran. Not caring that he wasn't unconscious, that he was still a potential threat. She was blind to everything but Laurel, aware of only her need to get over there. To do  _something._

The blonde woman had staggered down to her knees by the time Thea skidded to a stop in front of her.

She too dropped to her knees, just in time to catch Laurel as she tipped sideways.

"Laurel?" she pleaded, disregarding protocol.

The felled Black Canary coughed, one hand reaching up to cup Thea's face.

"I…I'm proud to die for my city. In my mask. Speedy." Laurel said, desperate to make this as easy on Thea as possible. She knew what this was, what this meant, even if Thea wasn't ready to accept it yet.

The younger girl had lost so many people already. Laurel had never wanted to join that list. To be another face in the crowd of people she'd lost. To be another person's regret.

Thea caught her hand before it could fall, pressing her cheek into it. "Hold on, Laurel. Hold on."

But she could see the light leaving Laurel's eyes, feel her body growing heavier in her arms, see the blood ebbing out of the bullet wound. She was a winged bird, plucked from the sky and taking her last shattering breath.

"You have to stay awake." Thea demanded, tears beginning to leak from her eyes.

"Thea…" Oliver called, approaching the two women.

Thea shook her head in denial, not pulling her eyes away from Laurel's.

Laurel smiled up at her, her teeth and lips stained a vivid, grotesque red.

"You're…so good Thea. So strong."

Thea shook her head, "Don't you dare Dinah Laurel Lance."

But, like always, Laurel didn't back down.

"I couldn't be prouder." Laurel managed to get out between rasping breaths. "I love you."

Thea sobbed, bowing her head to Laurel's chest and rocking back and forth.

Oliver stepped forward and gripped her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Thea jerked away, twisting around to glare at him.

How could he be so calm? This was Laurel. Their Laurel.

Laurel who was always there for them, for Thea. Who loved them like family, who took care of them when anyone else would have turned them, her, away.

She...there wasn't anything worth doing without Laurel there to cheer her on. Nothing was worth doing without her.

Thea shook off the thought, sitting back up as she heard Laurel exhale. Long and raspy. A death rattle.

It was her last. And she'd been too busy glaring at Oliver to be there for her during it. Laurel had died as Thea and Oliver fought. The injustice of it made her chest fill with rage.

Thea screamed to the heavens again, incoherent in her grief.

Oliver tried to pull her up, up and away from Laurel.

 _No_. This was not happening. NO!

Thea fought him, throwing him off with a snarl. She cradled Laurel's body closer to her. She buried her face in blonde, bloody hair, trying to shut the rest of the world out.

Laurel wasn't gone. She wasn't dead. Not her.

She was always there, always waiting to prop Thea up. To protect her, commiserate with her, make her feel human.

How could she live without that? Without Laurel to mock life with?

Without her big sister?

"Thea…" That time it was Diggle, trying to reach her in her grief.

But Thea couldn't hear him, didn't want to hear him.

Laurel wasn't dead, this was another nightmare and she'd wake up any minute now. She'd go crawl in bed with Laurel, stick her cold toes against the back of her knees and smile when Laurel kicked at her.

They'd make hot tea and listen to some music. Talk quietly until tue sun came through the windows. Just like they always did.

Only-

 

 

-only that didn't happen. Would never happen again.

"Thea please," Oliver was saying, "We need to go."

She shook her head, her cheek brushing Laurel's cold, lifeless one.

"Let her go Speedy." Diggle tried, crouching down beside her.

"I'm _not_ letting her go."

Oliver shifted above them, "Look Thea I know this is bad. Awful. But Laurel wouldn't want you to grieve her like this. We meet to get back to the cave."

That was just one too many.

Thea snapped.

She leaned back scowling up at the man that was supposed to be her older brother. The one who was supposed to always be there for her.

But hadn't been.

Instead it had been Laurel who stepped up. Who was there for her. Every. Single. Time.

"You have no right." Thea told him quietly, her voice a shade of deadly she could only have inherited from her father.

Diggle looked apphrensive, shifting to put himself between the Queen siblings.

Thea didn't notice.

"You, of all people, don't get to tell me what she would have wanted!" She yelled her voice rising a little more with each word until she was screaming. "Not when you spent your entire lives stomping all over her and what she wanted!"

Oliver flinched away from her, taking a step backwards.

She felt a rush of pleasure at the reaction, reveling in it despite the pettiness of it. All she could feel was rage and grief, there was no room in her to feel remorse for that. For him.

Thea dismissed him, turning her gaze back to the woman in her arms.

She brushed her hair out of her face, gently lifting off her domino mask.

With trembling fingers she closed her unseeing green eyes. She leaned over and pressed a final kiss to Laurels forehead.

"I love you too." She whispered.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> So tbh I didn't much care for how they had her die, I really wanted her to at least die a hero. Saving someone, consciously deciding there was something worth laying her life down. So this was my fix it for that (I already posted one to fix her death, albeit before the episode so some of it doesn't stand up)
> 
> Also I wrote and posted this from my phone on a car trip, so excuse any mistakes.


End file.
